Hand Maid May - Memory Failure (Vol. 3)

Customer Reviews:

May Is Still Kawaii.......2002-12-28

This is the final DVD of the Hand Maid May series. It contains the final 3 episodes plus the bonus episode 11 which was not originally intended. In the final three episodes, May and Kazuya have one final outing together before a nasty virus hits their CBD (cyber-doll) family. May is immune and with Kasumi and Kazuya, they try to save the cyber-dolls. In the bonus 11th episode, we have what I would call a holiday special.

To the credit of the writers of this series, the ending of the series (episode 10) was actually not what I expected. So I was very pleased with that. Episode 11 isn't animated as well and the story is pretty weak other than to make Kasumi decide that she's going to fight for Kazuya's love and not let a bunch of cyber doll's win his heart (especially since they can have kids). NOTE: A fansub version of this episode has Mami-san telling Kasumi that Kazuya wants to have kids and that Kasumi *can* have them -- implying that the cyber dolls cannot. I don't know which translation is correct which is why I need to learn Japanese!

The problem with the series continues to be the copious amounts of fan-service that are all over the place. They even manage to include it inside the DVD packaging! Otherwise, this kawaii (cute) series is pretty good.

As to the DVD, the same problems exist as on the previous ones. There are limited extras and there isn't a limited subtitle option for the English dub. The dubbing is done well and a credit to the English producer/director! The entire series should have been placed on 2 DVD's rather than spread it over three.

Bottom line: if you can get past all of the fan-service in this series, get all 3 DVD's. The English voice actors do a great job of capturing the spirit of the characters and the feel of the original Japanese seiyuu's.

The last and GREATEST episodes!!!.......2002-09-04

The last and GREATEST episodes of Hand Maid May. Not only does it have a cute cover, but the episodes are funny an cute and clever as can be. I wonder who created Hand Maid May?? It's just so darn funny!

I love this series!.......2002-08-05

This is one of my all-time favorite series. I wish there were more episodes though. But 11 was enough, because they were all really great episodes.

Ecchi, but there's a story in there somewhere.......2001-12-14

This is one of those series that you're almost embarrassed to admit that you like. The packaging leads you to believe it's another cutesy anime, until you open it and find a few...er, revealing drawings on the insert. The packaging is more ecchi than the series, although the series does have its moments (some of which give the old Gainax bounce a run for its money). Once you actually start watching the series, though, you're likely to become addicted to it very quickly. Sure, the genre's been done before, but not to my knowledge with a 1/6th human sized "cyberdoll" as the star. You really start caring about May, Kazuya, and Kasumi as the series progresses. Even the 'bad guys' are fun, especially given their high rate of defection to May's/Kazuya's side (Sara is one of my all-time favorite 'nemesis' characters now - watch the series and you'll see why). This DVD wraps up the series with 3 regular episodes and a special bonus that was only included on the original Japanese DVD set. If you enjoyed the drama of the middle episodes, you'll really love the way the series ends - while it's no dramatic masterpiece, it's extremely well done for a show of this type. You'll also love the bonus episode, which is arguably the funniest one of the series. All in all, it's a show worth your time - as long as you can see past the gratuitous panty shots, that is. ;-)

solidly concluded.......2001-12-13

It was hard to determine whether this series was shonen or shojo, but I'll have to say it's definitely shonen with its excessive fanservice and 5:1 female:male ratio. Though the fanservice is not extreme, many people might be put off by it. I loved it until the later episodes, where it served as inappropriate distraction to a wonderful story that tells of everything we wanted to know about the characters and plot--how Kazuya and Kasumi met, who is behind the Cyberdyne Corporation, etc. The director seems to have lost the magic but then resumes the nonstop character comedy in episode 11. The animation is pleasant but feels too digital. The concluding plot seems to have been hurriedly put together, but the way it's executed is heartwarming. And there's the 11th episode as well!

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